PORT ANGELES — Select softball and high school teammates and coaches, along with plenty of friends and family, turned out Friday to see Port Angeles High School senior Lauren Lunt sign her letter of intent to play for the University of Mary Marauders.
The University of Mary is an NCAA Division II school in Bismarck, N.D., that competes in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
Teammates and coaches from as far away as Bellingham and Tacoma traveled to Port Angeles for the event.
Her biggest fan, grandfather Jim Lunt, also was there in a portrait of Lunt, her father and grandfather that adorned the signing table.
The elder Lunt, a longtime champion of youth baseball and softball in Port Angeles, passed away in 2014.
“There’s one more person here, I can feel it, and that’s Grandpa,” Port Angeles Athletic Director Dwayne Johnson said early on during the ceremony.
The good-sized audience reflected much of the friendly, uplifting and enthusiastic personality Lunt, the 2016 Olympic League 2A Division MVP at catcher for the Roughriders, shows on a daily basis.
“We are all here to celebrate Lauren and show how much we all love her and the love she shows everybody else,” Lunt’s softball battery mate and basketball teammate Nizhoni Wheeler said.
Port Angeles head girls basketball coach Michael Poindexter praised her presence on his team.
“Basketball and softball are obviously pretty different sports that require different skill sets, different games entirely, but what will transfer over for her is just what a good teammate she is. Coach [Jennifer Rogers] and I were talking about that at Kiana Robideau’s signing. Lauren was there. Lauren isn’t Kiana’s volleyball teammate, but she’s her basketball teammate and she was there.
“And we had a basketball game last season where we beat a ranked opponent on a last-second buzzer beater. Lauren wasn’t out on the court for that play, but she was the first person out on the court to celebrate her teammates.
“Your future teams will find as your past teams have found, that Lauren is a a very devoted, loyal teammate and that’s a huge value.”
The day also reflected the hours of hard work and the thousands of miles Lunt has spent traveling to play the game she loves.
“I don’t think there’s any other athlete out there that’s put as much time and effort in getting where she is today,” Port Angeles softball head coach Randy Steinman said.
“She has the passion, she has the experience to do what it takes to get where she is.
“She’s given up a lot of her free time with her friends to get where she is today. I’m excited for her to have an excellent senior season, select season and a four-year college career.”
Lunt is the daughter of Jeff and Kristen Lunt of Port Angeles.
Her dad said he felt comfortable in having his daughter go to school in North Dakota.
“There’s been a lot of times over the past five or six years where people said you’re crazy for spending all this money for her to do all the things she does and all the travel,” Jeff Lunt said. “But I looked at it as an investment. And it’s nice to see that investment pay off.”
Lunt said she fell in love with the school on a recent visit and likes the direction the program is going under second-year head coach Kerry Shaw with a new indoor practice facility set to open and a number of talented teammates also signing with the school.
She alternated between tears, laughter and smiles during the signing ceremony.
Lunt was nearly overwhelmed trying to put the big day into perspective.
“It’s unbelievable,” Lunt said. “All the hard work, tears and sweat I’ve put into it. And not just me, my teammates too, so to be here and enjoy this day with my teammates and my coaches and family it’s amazing.
“I’m so blessed to have them in my life. I definitely have the best teammates.”
________
Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
